When country music star Brad Paisley and his wife, actress Kimberly Williams-Paisley, helped create a free grocery store in Nashville, Tennessee, their goal was to give families in need the ability to choose their own food in a place that felt like a normal store.
This year, The Store is offering that same dignity of choice to parents looking for gifts for the holiday season. During a two-day event 400 families will shop at a free toy store, stocked with brand new toys, video games, stuffed animals, scooters, clothes, makeup and musical instruments.
Paisley said, “The emotional aspect of being able to give your child something your child wanted versus just something to sort of get you through the holidays, that’s such a load off the minds of somebody who maybe didn’t think they were going to be able to do that.”
Nashville resident Stephanie Brodie got enrolled at The Store when she was a caregiver to her mother and they both enjoyed getting to shop for the foods that they needed for their diets. Her mom has since passed and now she’s taking care of five grandchildren, including four under the age of 15.
Brodie and her granddaughter picked out armloads of toys, musical instruments, beauty products and clothes for the family on Friday, a much-needed blessing when she’s trying to save money to replace a broken stove this year.
The Store received about 2,000 donated items, about half of which came from the Nashville area and the other half from First Responder’s Children’s Foundation.